Dyeing apparatus.



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rm: Noams PE1-:Rs co., wAsmNcro/v, n cv No.. 835,813. PATENTE-Nov. 13, 1906.

s. W. GRAMER.

DYBING APPARATUS. y APPLICATION FILED NOV.17.1.904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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UNITED sTATEs PATENT OEEIOE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 13, 1906.

Application iled November 17, 1904. Serial No. 233,194.

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, STUART W. CRAMER, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Charlotte, in the county of Mecklenburg and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dyeing Apparatus 5 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

l My invention relates to the art of dyeing wool, cotton, or other material, has especial reference to improvements in the apparatus or machinery for dyeing in vats, tanks, or other receptacles in which the material to be dyed is supported on a vertically-movable bottom supplemental to the bottom of the receptacle and is discharged therefrom by elevating the supplemental bottom, as shown in my patent bearing date of July 26, 1904, and numbered 765,883.

The invention disclosed in said patent presented a machine or apparatus which permitted the duplication of shades of color in a reasonable and satisfactory commercial de- Agree of accuracy.

My present invention has for its object more particularly improvements in the details of construction for securing uniform conditions in the individual batch or charge of material being treated.

Experience in operating this class of machines or apparatus has demonstrated that the material to be dyed is generally loaded more or less unequally and that it is desir able to provide some elasticity in the construction of the apparatus that will automatically adjust the distances between the top and bottom plates of the apparatus .to compensate for said inequality of loading. This result is accomplished in my invention by rovidingv an automatically tilting or yiel ing supplemental bottom connected by a universal joint to the supporting-piston and also said supplemental bottom being partially supported upon springs sufliciently elastic to cause it to take a position out of the horizontal, thereby accommodating an unequally-distributed load and still maintaining as nearly as possible a uniform pressure on the load.

After most carefully loading the material to be treated it has been found that when the usual flat cover has been placed and clamped down and the pump started to start the circulation the liquor naturally finds its way up through the points of least resistance or where the material is thinnest. With a reasonable amount of care in loading this` will not amount to anything through the general body of the material; but all around the edges next to the walls of the tank or receptacle the dye liquor bubbles up with great force, ofte'n spouting several inches in height. This the operatives endeavor to check by driving shingles down between the sides of the tank and the cover to compress and mat the material around the edge into a gasket or packing. To overcome this serious defect, I provide an annular vertically-depending flange on the under side of and around the cover adjacent to the wall of the tank, which compresses the material around the edges of the cover, prevents the escape of the dye liquor at this point, and compels the liquor in circulation to pass through and permeate the batch or charge of material and dye it uniformly'. It is self-evident that if, the liquor is allowed to pass throught the main body of the batch to be dyed in a slow and sluggish manner and to rapidly circulate through it in other thin places the result willI be an unequally-dyed batch.

By my improved construction the fbatch or charge is maintained under an approximately even degree of pressure throughout the area of the receptacle, and a consequent even dyeing of the material is accomplished in each individual batch treated, and the batch may be duplicated as many times as it is desired to produce the same shade of color.

Another serious obstacle encountered in operating this class of apparatus lies in handling the wet stock or material for unloading the tank or receptacle. In some classes of apparatus where the material is hoisted out of the tank the wet stock clings to the chains connected to the cover, and at best the removal when effected by hand is laborious and exceedingly difficult.- To overcome this, it is my purpose to provide mechanical appliances to remove the dyed material from the supplemental bottom after it has been expelled from the receptacle.

The invention will be fully disclosed in the following speciiication and claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this speciiication, Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, illustrating my invention; and Fig. 2, a vertical transverse section, partly in side elevation, of a IOO IIO

. rising around the edge of the cover and with a like flange 3 on the upper side vof the cover. The cover is secured in the receptacle by suitable clamps pivotally secured to the wall of the receptacle, and distriuted around the upper end of the receptacle in such number as may be required.. @ne clamp is shown at 4.

5 indicates a perforated or foraminous supplemental bottdsa, also provided with a vertical flange 6 on tim under side thereof, and is connected to the piston 7 of a hydraulic cylinder 8 by a universal joint 9 to enable the bottom to tilt automatically under unequal distribution of the batch or charge of the material, and under the bottom, secured to the upper end of the piston 7 adjacent to the universal joint, is a spider 10, having radial arms 11, on which are springs 12, secured in position by pins 13, to take the weight of the load on the bottom 5 and adjust the bottom to maintain a horizontal plane in the receptacle as the bottom is raised to express liquid from the charge or batch'thereon or to expel .the charge from the receptacle. These springs also compensate for any inequalities in the distribution of the charge and secure an equal distribution of pressure on and consequent equal density of the charge. The bottom 15 of the tank or receptacle is provided with a stuliing-box 16, through which the piston 7 passes, and on the upper end of the cylinder 8 is a like stuffing-box 17.

18 indicates a liquid-supply pipe communieating with a pump 19 and discharges intolan annular cap 20, having a lateral outlet 21, and the liquid is drawn off from the receptacle through a pipe 22 and returned to the source of supply in the usual manner. On the wall of the receptacle and at the upper end thereof are pockets 23, only one of which is shown, to receive the overfiow of the liquid discharged through slots 24 in the wall of the receptacle and returned to the pump through pipes 25 and 26 to be again circulated through the charge in the receptacle.

27 indicates a hydraulic cylinder supported l in horizontal position at one end on a bracket 28, secured to the wall of the receptacle, and at the opposite end on a stanchion 29 and is provided with a piston 30, on whose outer end is a concave-convex head '31, the radius of whose inner or convex face is approximately the same as the radius of the inner surface of the wall ofthe receptacle to engage ythe compressed batch or charge after it has been expelled from the receptacle and remove it laterally from the supplemental. bottom 5 when it falls upon a truck or the floor 32 outside the receptacle 1. The cylinder 27 is provided with a stufiing-box 33, and the piston is restored to its normal position by a counterweight 30. The bore of the cylinders S and 27 is in excess of the diameter of their respective pistons 7 and 30, and the cylinders are supplied with water from a pump 34, respectively, through pipes 35 and 36, through which the water from the cylinders is discharged in the usual manner of operating hydraulic engines. j

37 indicates la track or trolley on which is suspended ay right and left hand screwthreaded rod 38, made in two parts, which engage an elongated hub 39 of a hand-wheel 4() for raising the cover 2 out of the receptacle and moving it out of the way to load or charge and unload or discharge the material to and from the receptacle. The liquid in the tank or receptacle may be maintained at any desired temperature by steam supplied through a coiled pipe 41 and discharge through pipe 42.

It is obvious that this apparatus may also be used for boiling, washing, or bleaching purposes without departing from the spirit of my invention and that changes in the details of construction may alsobe made.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is- 1. A receptacle provided with a removable foraminous cover, a reciprocatory and automatically-tilting foraminous supplemental bottom yieldingly supported, means for supplying liquid to the receptacle, and means for withdrawing the liquid.

2. A receptacle provided with a removable cover, a reciprocatory and automaticallytilting supplemental bottom, a yielding support under said bottom, means Yfor supplying liquid to the receptacle, and means for withdrawing the liquid.

3. A receptacle having an open upper end, a removable cover secured therein, a supplemental bottom vertically movable in the r'eceptacle, means adapted to permit automatie movement of the bottom to compensate for inequalities in the distribution of the charge on said bottom and maintain an approximately even degree of pressure on the charge.

4. A receptacle provided with a removable cover, a supplemental bottom on which material to be treated is supported, means for raising the supplemental bottom and expelling the material from the receptacle, and means for removing said material from the supplemental bottom.

5. A receptacle provided with a removable cover, a supplemental bottom on which material to be treated is supported, means for raising the supplemental bottom and expelling the material from the receptacle, and means for removing said material laterally from the supplemental bottom.

6. A receptacle provided with a removable Cover, a supplemental bottom on which material to be treated is supported, means for raising said bottom to the upper end of the reeeptaele, and means for removing the material bodily and laterally from the supplemental bottom.

7. A receptacle provided with an open upper end, a removable cover secured therein, a supplemental bottom, a motor for raising said bottom, a universal joint connecting the bottom to the motor, means for supplying liquid to the receptacle, and means for withdrawing the liquid.

8. A receptacle provided with an open upper end, a removable cover secured therein, a

supplemental bottom, means for raising said bottom, a universal joint under said bottom, springs under said bottom, means for supplying liquid to the receptacle, and means for withdrawing the liquid.

9. A receptacle provided with a removable cover, a reoiproeatory supplemental bottom provided with means for automatically adjusting said bottom under unequally-distributed loads and thereby maintaining approximately uniform pressure on the load, means for supplying liquid to the receptacle, and means for withdrawing the liquid.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

STUART W. CRAMER.

Witnesses:

J. H. MAYEs, C. L. MCLEAN. 

